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Friday, July 22, 2016

The perfect compromise

What does it take to succeed as an athlete? Hard work, of course. But if the answer were
that simple, success would be much easier, wouldn’t it? Most athletes compete
because they love pushing their limits. The truth is, to succeed in a sport
like cross-country skiing you need more than just the ability to go as hard as
you can. Recently I came to the conclusion that, although hard work is important,
the hardest part of being an elite athlete is actually self-discipline, the
ability to hold yourself back. If you
always trained as hard as you possibly could you would end up running out of
energy and eventually burning out. Of course if on
the contrary, you played it too safe and didn’t train hard enough, you may
never reach your full potential. My theory is that both hard work and self-discipline
are essential to becoming the best athlete you can possibly be, but you must
learn to balance both. I call this the perfect compromise.

Ready for our 3h run in Tremblant

The alignment camp in Montreal and Mont-Tremblant was the
perfect opportunity to practice the balance between hard work and self-discipline.
The first two days were spent in Montreal at the b2ten facility where we did four different
hard intensities sessions on a stationary bike, ski erg and Jacobs Ladder (basically a never ending ladder machine). During
these two days I focused on the hard work aspect. It was fun to push my limits alongside all my teammates and
competitors and get an idea of where I am in terms of my fitness.

Testing our limits on the bike at b210. Deep in the pain cave

After the testing in Montreal, everyone headed to
Mont-Tremblant for a ten day volume camp. It was now time to put in the big
hours and work on the self-discipline aspect. This meant I had to put aside my competitive nature and focus on my personal goals for the week. During my zone 1 and zone 3 workouts I worked on my efficiency and my technique and reminded myself constantly that I must listen to my body in order to race fast when it really mattered.

Although it was my biggest week of training ever, it didn't feel that way. We were spoiled in so many ways. I had a big group of training partners from all over Canada to train with, great coaching support and access to trails and roads right from the door of our hotel. It really can't get much better than that! My favourite workout of the week was a 3 hour run/hike up Mont-Tremblant on July 1st , an amazing way to celebrate Canada day!

Afternoon skiwalk (Teammate Mia)

Testing out our new ec3d compression socks

Speed session

Spotted a dear before a swim at sunset

After the camp, I headed home to Chelsea for a short (but sweet) visit. It
was great to catch up with friends and family and spend some time relaxing on
the Gatineau River. I also got to attend a Nakkertok practice, something I always look forward to.

I have been back in Thunder Bay for over a week. Last week we did the infamous 3km uphill TT and I was super excited to get a new personal best ( by 27 seconds) as well as a new women's record! It was even better to see so many of my teammates get a PB as well, a good sign that our hard work ( and self-discipline) is paying off.

A hard post training camp ski striding session in Thunder Bay

The team at the top of the Sleeping Giant

Enjoying a rest day with my sister and dog at home

As always, thank you for reading,

KSJ

P.S If you have not heard already, my home club
Nakkertok Nordic is a finalist for the Kraft-Heinz Project Play grant of
250,000$. This Grant would be used towards improving the trail system and
investing in snow-making. This grant would benefit not only Nakkertok, but the
entire ski community by providing early season skiing and better trails for
racing at the Eastern Canadian Championships. You can vote as many times as you
want between July 25th and 26th by visiting http://kraftheinzprojectplay.com/en/

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About me

I am a competitive cross-country skier who was born and raised in Chelsea Quebec. I grew up skiing in the Gatineau Park with the Nakkertok nordic ski club. I now train with the National Development Centre in Thunder Bay, Ontario and am also a member of Canada's Senior National Team. In addition to skiing, I am a Psychology student at Lakehead Univeristy. Follow my journey!